VVMBookBlog

Have I talked about a favorite book of the summer yet? Well, this might be it!

It’s fall in 1967 and Holling Hoodhood (strange name, yes!) has just started 7th grade in his Long Island town, close to New York City. On Wednesday afternoons most of the students in his class leave early for religious classes at the synagogue and Catholic church, leaving Holling with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. He’s pretty certain Mrs. Baker doesn’t like him from the start, especially when he realizes they will be spending their Wednesdays together reading Shakespeare’s plays.

The chapters in the book follow the months of the 1967-68 school year. The plot of the book centers around Holling’s “perfect” family (not!), problems with the bullies in Camillo Junior High School, and a budding romance with Meryl Lee, whose dad owns an architect firm that is in competion with that of Holling’s father.

The plot also centers around the major historical events of that year, including Vietnam War action, the political campaign of Robert Kennedy, and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. All of these are skillfully interwoven against the backdrop of the characters and events in the Shakespeare plays Holling is reading. No, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t read any Shakespeare, but reading this book might make you WANT to read some Shakespeare!

It made me laugh and made me sad, but mostly it made me glad I read it!